A Framework of Distinct Musical Chills: Theoretical, Causal, and Conceptual Evidence

The phenomenon of musical chills has attracted extensive attention in previous music and emotion research, correlating the experience with musical structure, psychoacoustics parameters, individual differences in listeners, and the listening situation. However, there are three crucial limitations in the literature: 1) The emotional characteristics of musical chills have not been explored, and are poorly understood; 2) musical chills have never been causally manipulated, and no theories have been tested; and 3) it is unclear whether chills are a unified psychological construct, or a set of distinct experiences, distinguished at the levels of subjective feeling, psychophysiological response, individual differences, and underlying psychological induction mechanisms. Across five studies, ranging from qualitative surveys to experimental manipulations of musical chills, these limitations were addressed in the current thesis, with results suggesting firstly that musical chills are often mixed emotional experiences, described as moving, bittersweet and intense; secondly, that musical chills can be manipulated, and corresponding theories tested, with a novel experimental paradigm, by removing key sections in a piece or changing psychoacoustic parameters such as loudness and brightness; finally, that there are likely distinct types of chills experiences, which across multimedia are linked to both the affective dimension of valence and individual differences such as trait empathy, and with music through mechanisms of fear and vigilance on the one hand, and social bonding on the other. The studies and results are discussed in terms of two categories of musical chills experiences, culminating in a preliminary Distinct Musical Chills Framework, producing a series of testable hypotheses for future empirical work, and a comprehensive research agenda for the field moving forward

The effects of musical tempo and non-invasive neuromodulation on autonomic control of the heart

Music is viewed as conferring health benefits, with tempo being the most influential parameter for altering human physiology and psychology. However, this work has used stimuli that manipulate multiple musical parameters at a time. Therefore, this thesis investigated the effects of musical tempo manipulations on cardiovascular autonomic function and subjective responses. Tempo manipulations comprised of stepped (sudden) increases and decreases in the speed of a simple beat pattern and heart rate variability estimated autonomic balance. Shifts towards parasympathetic predominance occurred for the stepped decrease in tempo stimulus but not for the stepped increase in tempo. When using more musically sophisticated stimuli, greatest vagal tone occurred for the slowest tempo (60bpm) of the stepped decrease in tempo stimulus. Autonomic function did not differ between an experimental (melody and rhythm) and control group (rhythm only). However, the latter experienced greater subjective arousal than the former. Growing interest in wearable technologies led to the testing of a wearable device that combined relaxation music with transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation (tVNS). tVNS is a non-invasive neuromodulatory technique that administers small electrical impulses to the outer ear to stimulate the auricular vagus nerve. Both stimuli individually promote shifts towards parasympathetic predominance. It was anticipated that music combined with tVNS would elicit the greatest shifts towards parasympathetic predominance. However, the sham was equally as effective as music only, tVNS only, and their combination at altering autonomic activity. Autonomic responses to all stimuli employed in the thesis were predicted by baseline LF%. These findings suggest that music and wearables may be susceptible to placebo effects

Human hypertension: observations on autonomic nervous system control mechanisms and clinical associations

Introduction: Sympathetic nerve activity (SNA) undergoes physiological modulation by respiration but it remains unclear whether this process is altered by age and hypertension. Aims: To establish relationship between respiration and neural regulation of the cardiovascular system in aging and hypertension. Methods: Multiunit muscle SNA, BP, respiratory parameters and heart rate were recorded at rest in young and older healthy men and hypertensive patients, then repeated in hypertensive group after acute and long-term device-guided slow deep-breathing (SDB) training. Results: Muscle SNA was higher in older subjects but showed similar modulation by respiration in both age groups. In young acute SDB reduced SNA, with no effect on sympathetic and cardiac baroreflex sensitivity. The sympathoinhibition was not related to changes in baroreflex sensitivity, but it reflected increases in lung inflation afferent input and/or reduction in central respiratory-sympathetic coupling. Long-term SDB training inhibited muscle SNA in hypertensive patients and led to acute increase in heart rate variability and longer-term BP reduction. There were no changes in baroreflex sensitivity, cardiac structure/function or arterial stiffness in response to SDB training. Conclusions: The study provides new mechanistic insights into sympathetic regulatory pathways in hypertension and aging, which may help to establish anti-hypertensive strategy based on respiratory modulation

Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes, supplement 165, March 1977

This bibliography lists 198 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in February 1977

Listen to my breath: Exploring expressive function of breathing sounds in imitation and emotional attunement

Diversi studi hanno dimostrato i reciproci rapporti di influenza tra respiro e variabili psicologiche ma scarsa attenzione è stata rivolta all’indagine delle funzioni espressive del suono del respiro. Studio 1 è stato finalizzato alla costruzione di un modello di analisi multi-livello per la descrizione acustica del respiro. Sono state effettuate audio e video registrazioni del respiro di 2 coppie di soggetti in performance individuali e congiunte. Sui 1903 respiri raccolti sono state condotte analisi video e audio che hanno portato alla costruzione di tre categorie di indici: respiratori, acustici e interattivi (relativi alla relazione tra i comportamenti respiratori di due partners in un’azione congiunta). Studio 2 ha investigato cosa poteva essere inferito dall’ascolto del suono respiro relativamente all’identità, allo stato emotivo e all’attività svolta da una persona. Inoltre, ha verificato se l’imitazione facilitasse l’identificazione rispetto al solo ascolto. Sono state raccolte registrazioni ecologiche del respiro di persone coinvolte in 6 attività e 4 emozioni. Un campione di 90 persone ha ascoltato le tracce e risposto ad un questionario relativo alle suddette variabili. Altre 90 persone prima di rispondere imitavano il respiro. Il campione ha efficacemente inferito informazioni relative alle variabili indagate, con risultati migliori nel task di imitazione. Studio 3 mirava a descrivere acusticamente 6 condizioni di respiro emotivo (rabbia, paura, tristezza, disgusto, tenerezza, gioia) e a investigare se “respirare insieme” influenzasse il processo di sintonizzazione. 20 coppie di donne hanno partecipato. Per ogni emozione, entro ogni coppia una partecipante leggeva una storia emotivamente connotata e respirava come se si trovasse in quella situazione. L’altra esprimeva la propria vicinanza respirando come lei. Al termine rispondevano a un questionario. I respiri sono stati audio registrati e analizzati. E’ stato possibile ricondurre ciascuna delle emozioni a un differente pattern respiratorio. Inoltre il task ha influenzato diverse dimensioni della sintonizzazione: la sincronizzazione, il decoding emotivo, l’esperienza emotiva e la percezione di somiglianza interpersonale.Several psycho-physiological studies have provided evidences about the reciprocal influence between respiration and psychological variables but few attentions have been brought to the investigation of the expressive function of breathing sounds. Study 1 aims to build a multilayer analysis model that enable an acoustic description of breathing sounds. Audio and video recordings of breathing of two pairs of participants engaged in individual and joint performance were conducted. 1903 were video and audio analyzed and 3 sets of indexes were derived: respiratory, acoustic and interactive (aimed to relate partner’s respiratory behaviour during joint performances). Study 2 investigates what could be inferred about a person’s identity, emotional state and activity from the sound of his/her breathing. Moreover, it aims to verify whether imitation of breathing patterns improve the identification of those features. Ecological recordings of breathing sounds of people engaged in 6 activities and 4 emotions. 90 participants listen to the tracks and answer a questionnaire about such variables. Other 90 mimicked the tracks before answering. Participants were able to infer valuable information about the aspects under investigation with better results in the imitation task. Study 3 aims to describe the acoustic features of 6 emotional breathing patterns (anger, fear, sadness, disgust, tenderness and joy) and to see whether breathing together could strengthen the attunement process. 20 pairs of women participated. For each emotion, within the pair one participant read a story emotionally connoted and breathes as if she actually was in that situation. Her partner had to convey her closeness breathing in the same way. Finally they filled in a questionnaire. Different respiratory patterns were related to each emotion. Moreover the task influenced several attunement dimensions: synchronization, emotional decoding, emotional experience and perception of interpersonal similarity

Models and Analysis of Vocal Emissions for Biomedical Applications

The International Workshop on Models and Analysis of Vocal Emissions for Biomedical Applications (MAVEBA) came into being in 1999 from the particularly felt need of sharing know-how, objectives and results between areas that until then seemed quite distinct such as bioengineering, medicine and singing. MAVEBA deals with all aspects concerning the study of the human voice with applications ranging from the neonate to the adult and elderly. Over the years the initial issues have grown and spread also in other aspects of research such as occupational voice disorders, neurology, rehabilitation, image and video analysis. MAVEBA takes place every two years always in Firenze, Italy. This edition celebrates twenty years of uninterrupted and succesfully research in the field of voice analysis